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Peston 9pm tonight - The great Euro crash
Comments
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I didn't say they couldn't, I said they won't. Didn't we fight wars to avoid assimilation?Why cannot other EU countries compete with Germany?
Perhaps resistance is futile, but we haven't given up yet.
And the Germans should be careful, because they don't have the natural advantages. Machine tools can be made by robots in Korea. The centre of economic gravity could move back to the creative and artistic south and leave the Germans needing the subsidies."It will take, five, 10, 15 years to get back to where we need to be. But it's no longer the individual banks that are in the wrong, it's the banking industry as a whole." - Steven Cooper, head of personal and business banking at Barclays, talking to Martin Lewis0 -
I think it is the other way around. Had Germany not been in the Euro its currency would have been so strong that there would not have been any question but to build the Astra (and do as much other labour intensive manufacturing) elsewhere.a note of interest--GM have chosen to build the new Opel astra in the uk which threatens the Bocham plant which is in Germany--could the Eurozone be dragging Germany down into the mire?? i always remember the arguement against the Euro put forward was that 'we' would only be as strong as the weakest economy--the Greeks if they have any sense wont leave the Eurozone which will drag down the rest of the Euro using countries---they will have to pick up the debt right down on the default!I think....0
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I can not understand the fawning admiration of the German business model.
If you insist on always spending less than you earn then you rely on someone else always spending more than they earn to buy your excess.
You also then have to lend them the money from your savings to pay for all the extra stuff you are making and they are consuming.
It turns out that you can not just indefinitely lend people money because in the end they can not afford to even pay the interest let alone repay the capital and hence you end up writing off your loans.
Net result, you have worked hard and made lots of things that other people have used.
To my mind that is a stupid economic model. I would rather have worked little and consumed more than I produced and then had my debts writen off.Is it because Germany's wealth is based on good housekeeping and organisation which is part of the German peoples character and so accepted by them as the correct way to behave, but the rest of Europe are just happy for an easy ride and quick fixes?
I'm sure that British banking used to be based along similar lines until they decided that it was easier to start lending large amounts to people who couldn't really be relied on to pay the loans back, borrow off of one credit card at zero percent for six months and then transfer the loan to another credit card on the same terms continuously, how was that ever sustainable? And that's just the tip of the iceberg.I think....0 -
I can not understand the fawning admiration of the German business model.
If you insist on always spending less than you earn then you rely on someone else always spending more than they earn to buy your excess.
You also then have to lend them the money from your savings to pay for all the extra stuff you are making and they are consuming.
It turns out that you can not just indefinitely lend people money because in the end they can not afford to even pay the interest let alone repay the capital and henceyou end of writing off your loans.
Net result, you have worked hard and made lots of things that other people have used.
To my mind that is a stupid economic model. I would rather have worked little and consumed more than I produced and then had my debts writen off.
Seems that the first two parts of your plan and it's overall sucess are heavily dependant on the third part a) becoming reality and b) having no other adverse effects...
A bit like robbing a bank and enjoying the proceeds in the hope that the police !!!! up the investigation. A sound strategy indeed.Go round the green binbags. Turn right at the mouldy George Elliot, forward, forward, and turn left....at the dead badger0 -
I can not understand the fawning admiration of the German business model.
If you insist on always spending less than you earn then you rely on someone else always spending more than they earn to buy your excess.
You also then have to lend them the money from your savings to pay for all the extra stuff you are making and they are consuming.
It turns out that you can not just indefinitely lend people money because in the end they can not afford to even pay the interest let alone repay the capital and hence you end up writing off your loans.
Net result, you have worked hard and made lots of things that other people have used.
To my mind that is a stupid economic model. I would rather have worked little and consumed more than I produced and then had my debts writen off.
Post of the Year!!!!
Exports exist to pay for imports. You can no more export more than you import indefinitely than the other way round.
Germany is as responsible for the Eurozone 'crisis' as Greece etc.. One day voters in the importing countries will realise that they have Germany by the short and curlies.0 -
Isnt Germany already unified?Disappointed when he got on to talking about competitiveness, because it isn't going to happen. Europe isn't going to be harmonised and turned into a giant Germany. In the USA, rich parts have to subsidise poor parts - mostly through social security - even after 200 years of common currency.
The euro can be made to work without that. Some things that are needed are
- eurozone bonds, because member states can no longer manage their own credit
- federal social security. If the Germans want to suck in all the jobs, they should at least help to pay for the unemployment they leave behind
- something has to be done about trade imbalances, either by direct intervention or by moving money back the other way
- German reunification has to be put on hold, because Europe can't afford it0 -
Germany's framework and work mentality built on cheap money post re-unification with unions that care about the country, not about themselves.
What you mean by not exporting the work to cheaper far Eastern countries?
Or, perhaps by not exporting all the profits to overseas tax havens?
Maybe by taking a longer term view on return on investment rather than short term value?
Bloody unions, eh?What goes around - comes around0 -
Economically, no, the East hasn't caught up with the West yet.Isnt Germany already unified?"It will take, five, 10, 15 years to get back to where we need to be. But it's no longer the individual banks that are in the wrong, it's the banking industry as a whole." - Steven Cooper, head of personal and business banking at Barclays, talking to Martin Lewis0 -
What you mean by not exporting the work to cheaper far Eastern countries?
Or, perhaps by not exporting all the profits to overseas tax havens?
Maybe by taking a longer term view on return on investment rather than short term value?
Bloody unions, eh?
No, the unions in Germany accepted that working for longer, reducing (relative to inflation) their pay and increasing the pension contributions was required to maintain a solid manufacturing base and keep jobs in Germany.
If I may address your points:
1) It's the existence of the unions that are driving labour costs up unsustainably. Hence seeking cheaper work elsewhere, sensible business decision.
2) Unions have no say in tax. That's the Government's job.
3) Sorry, that's a throwaway line that I have destroyed above.The J is a Financial Advisor-This site doesn't check anyone's status and as such any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as financial advice. Always seek professional advice.0 -
A German company that I have dealt with used to manufacture in Germany and then moved to China but has since moved to Hungary. Always looking for the best option to make money.0
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